Pittsburg Superintendent gives statement about bus driver shortage

On Jan. 24 it was posted on the Pittsburg ISD(PISD) Facebook that the busses for routes T1 and T2 would not be running on Monday, Jan. 25. The morning of Jan. 25 the PISD updated their Facebook stating that the busses would run but would be ‘extremely late’ due to driver shortage. PISD also had an issue with the busses being ‘extremely late’ late on Friday, Jan. 22.

PISD Superintendent Terry Waldrep stated that the shortage of bus drivers was not only due to the pandemic but also because of personal reasons and other illnesses. Schools across the country have dealt with shortages of teachers, substitutes, bus drivers and custodians. As long as the pandemic is happening it is something that the school district is having to adapt to. 

“When the school year first started we were concerned about the busses and social distancing. We have taken every step possible to keep the children safe. We asked parents at the beginning of the school year to provide transportation if they were able. I know these may not be ideal but we are doing everything we can,” said Waldrep. “Sadly at this time, there are schools all over the country that have had to take a day off due to not having enough teachers to teach. A shortage of staff is something that all schools are dealing with and sadly an issue like this may arise at PISD again.”